Patriotism- the quality of being patriotic; or vigorous support for one's own country. America is not patriotic unless a tragedy hits such as the attack on the world trade center.Being patriotic is not going out to vote or waving around the flag, patriotism is an idea, a notion, a concept that could be defined as love and support for one's own country. But along the way, America has lost the true meaning of patriotism. What is the true definition of patriotism? Through racism, war,and inequality, patriotism has been modified throughout the years and society has misinterpreted the true definition of patriotism and plays a different role than it should. Due to racism in the 1930s’, American society was not patriotic and segregated colored individuals from the whites. Langston Hughes, in his poem “Let America Be America Again,” Hughes states that Americas society lost its patriotic way of life, the reason America was created. Hughes’ poem is saying America is not the country it was set out to be by the founding fathers this country. Hughes advocates “I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek¨(Hughes).Hughes uses anaphora to describe all the people who are not equal. Later on however, the Vietnam war starts and …show more content…
In the book The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien states that the war was pointless and “Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons”(42). At one point, in the story he says that he wanted to move to Canada and he wanted to go, however, he would not be allowed back and would be considered a “disgrace.” The war also brought a huge lack of patriotism in society because pointless blood was being spilled for no reason. Although these are examples of the past more modern example would be the Kaepernick
Patriotism is defines as love and devotion to one's country, usually out of self devotion. Nationalism is an adulterated version of patriotism where aspirations for national independence in a country under foreign domination is forced upon the people by society, or an authoritative figure.
“Nationalism(n.) - loyalty or devotion to a nation, especially an attitude, feeling, or belief characterize by a sense of national consciousness” (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). Nationalism was a crucial part of America’s success during the War of 1812; nationalism was reflected in the post-war period through increased national pride, emphasis on national issues, increase in power and scope of the national government, and a growing sense of American identity (The War of 1812 and the Rise of Nationalism 1). The first to arise which was the driving force behind American victories against the British was nationalism. This nationalism was expressed in four ways; patriotism, political, economical and cultural. American patriotism
This poem is often compared to Walt Whitman’s I Hear America Singing because of the similarities of the two poems. In this poem, Hughes argues that the African American race is equal to whites. Hughes even declares that one day the African American race will be equal to whites. Hughes proclaims, “Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed-I, too, am America.” Hughes was very bold and daring when he wrote these lines in this poem. He is implying that the white people will regret what they have done to blacks. That they will be ashamed of how they treated them. Undoubtedly, this poem expresses Hughes cultural identity.
Simon Keller argues in his essay "Patriotism as Bad Faith" that patriotism is not a virtue but it is actually a vice. Keller begins by splitting the views on this philosophical debate into three different representations. The first being the "communitarian patriot", where patriotism is not only a valued virtue to someone's self but that it is actually an essential virtue. The second representation is a radical contradiction of the first, known as the "hard universalist. The hard Universalist sees patriotism as a vice instead of being any type of positive virtue. They think that everyone should be valued the same, and that there should be no favoritism. The third representation is the idea of the first two combined, to form what is called the "soft universalist." This view is understood as patriotism is allowed, and is not seen as a vice, but also that one has an obligation to the rest of the world, almost to try and treat them as a loyalty that you would have towards your own country. (p.112).
Let America Be America Again, written by Langston Hughes, was written to make a satirical statement about the American Dream. He uses personification, alliteration, and imagery to bring home his point that the “dream the dreamers dreamed” (Hughes ???) not only has never existed but will never truly exist for the common man. According to the speaker, assumed to be Hughes but in reality could be anyone who is hopeless and unhappy in this land where “equality is in the air we breathe” (???), that as long as there are “kings” and “tyrants” (???), the American Dream is only an unobtainable goal but is something that must be kept alive.
Numerous definitions of patriotism are used within society every day. Some people believe it is about the love and devotion for our country and others believe it has to do with symbols we obtain to show our appreciation for our country. After reading Gerard Huiskamp's, "'Support Our Troops!' : The Social and Political Currency of Patriotism in the United States and Margaret A. Nash's "'How to Be Thankful for Being Free': Searching for a Convergence of Discourses on Teaching Patriotism, Citizenship, and United States History," my knowledge on patriotism has expanded.
Sydney J. Harris establishes the patriotic perspective by stating that a “patriot is proud of his country” and the “feeling of responsibility” that comes with being a patriot. In my perspective, patriotism is the component that lead to an individual to blindly be proud of their country no matter what it does. Moreover, my perspective of patriotism goes correspondly with Sydney J. Harris stand with nationalism. When an individual is so devoted to their nation they will ultimately accept matters that that nation will release even if the issue is not in their interests. An example of this is shown through events such as voting for Donald Trump.
Nationalism has been shown all over the world for many centuries, it is even an underlying cause of World War 1. While patriotism is supported heavily, forced patriotism is not patriotism at all. Meredith Jessup, an author for The Blaze news stories conducts, “Patriotism is an emotion that comes from within, not something that can be levied by government. Without that personal sense of patriotism, the Pledge of Allegiance is just a poem that doesn’t even rhyme,” (Jessup). In order to be patriotic one has to put their whole heart into loving this country.
Nationalism is strong pride in one’s nation; its culture, its language, its music, its army, and many other things. Nationalism is different from patriotism in that nationalists believe in the superiority of their nation and the inferiority of others. Another seemingly contrasting ideology to Nationalism was Romanticism, which believed in the value of the individual identity, along with other
A person can have patriotism through their words but I believe more so in their actions. There are many of us who are willing to part with loved ones for the good of this nation. People who will sacrifice and head out to war or across the ocean. There are others ways Americans show a form of patriotism. For example; standing up, hand over heart, and saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school.
The main idea of Hughes poem is the author voicing his frustrations about racism. Hughes also implies that America includes everyone, race doesn’t matter. These two authors use different techniques to express the idea of an American
Patriotism serves as a key that can rediscover unity in the nation, bringing back national honor and power. Webster shows that a love of country has the power to bring people together, making the country stronger by putting its interests ahead of their own. The themes of patriotism in American Literature show that America prospers when members of society have a love and appreciation for the place they live and for its core
it's a knowing deep down inside that you are a part of something very special and very important. Patriotism is the proud love for your country which causes you to act upon your beliefs without considering any danger to yourself. In truly patriotic people, it is not a fleeting feeling, but remains in the heart, always ready to be felt and acted upon.
As a young child I developed a strong sense of patriotism. Several of my family members have served in the military, and over the years I have been exposed to a great amount of love for this country. To me patriotism doesn’t only mean that you love your country, and that you appreciate the freedoms you have. Patriotism means that you take pride in your country. It is a strong sense of belief in the government, and in the people.
Nationalism and patriotism are both examples of how an individual shows their relationship towards their nation(Nationalism vs. Patriotism).They are both sometimes confused by people and believed that they mean the same, but patriotism and nationalism have their differences. To give more importance to unity by way of a cultural background, including language and heritage is what Nationalism gives more importance to,however Patriotism is mostly about the love for a nation , which more giving to the beliefs and values(S 2018). Patriotism is based on affection and nationalism is rooted in rivalry and resentment. Patriotism is based on peace, but nationalism is more about nature(Nationalism vs. Patriotism). An example of patriotism would be a